Clothes-wringer



I. J. WOOD.

CLOTHES WMNGER.

armcmon man JULY 25.1918.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

EQHK UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES J. WOOD, OF FORT WAYNE; INDIANA, ABSIGNOB TO NEIL C. HUBLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CLOTHES-WRINGEB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

Application filed July 25, 1918. Serial No. 248,648.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J muss J Wooo, a citizen of the United States, residin at Fort Wayne, in the county of Allen an State of Indians, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Clothes-Wringers, of which the followin is a specification.

My invention re ates in some features more particularly to clothes wringers intended to be power driven, as is the case where they arp used in conjunction with power washing machines, and in somepar-- parts in section, showing the construction of the wringer and its association with the power shaft, Fig. 2 isa detail of a clutchshifting member, and Fig. 3 is a detail of a frame member for the power roll.

In the drawings 10 indicates in general the wringer frame, shown as comprising end'castings 11 and 12 connected by a bridge or top member 13, such frame supporting the lower and upper rolls 14 and 15 and the pivoted drip board 16. The frame as an entirety is secured at its end member 11 to a rotatable head 17 carried by a supporting bracket 18, ri 'dly mounted in any suitable fashion, not s own, with respect to the fixed support such as the washing machine frame. A latch structure 18' associated with the bracket 18 locks the rotatable head 17 in adjusted position on the bracket, and a shaft 19, driven from a suitable source of power, not shown, extends up through the bracket 18 to connect with reversing gearing 20 within the head 17 to drive the shaft for roll 14.

In the specific construction shown the side casting 11 of the ringer frame has a ballbearing 21 for a shaft 22 of roll 14, the opposite extremity of the shaft bein supported in a similar ballbearing 21 In end casting 12. Each ballbearing preferably has its cup member forced into the frame part, whereas the shaft makes a neat but such chamber screwed to the frame end 12,

has an aperture 26 to give access to the polygonal extremity 22' of shaft 22, so adapting the wringer to receive a hand crank. The other member of the gear couple 23 is mounted on the squared end portion of shaft 27 for the upper roll 15, and this shaft is sup rted in ballbearings 28 in vertically mova le guide members 29, each of which is a castin guided vertically between lugs 29 of the rame ends and the sides of the brid 13. Each guide has endant limbs 30 t at straddle the shaft 22 etween roller 14 and the proximate end frame 11 or 12 and has an upper end 31, notched as at 32 to receive the tension spring 33 that extends abovethe roll-couple between these inner frame members 29. The bridge 13 is a channeled brace having end ears 34 screwed at 34 to the tops of the end frames 11 and 12, the downwardly opening channel of the bridge receiving within it the extremities 32 of the inner frame members and the sprin 33 that spans between them. Upon top of t e bridge is a boss or dome 35 having a downwardly opening circular recess 36 with which communicates a slot 37, the side walls of which are formed to afiord bearing for a pintle 38 for a latch lever 39. Through the top of the dome there is an opening 40 loosely to receive a screw or threaded spindle 41 bearing a hand wheel 42, this screw preferably extending through a relatively large opening 43 in lever 39, and within the dome engaging a circular nut 44 slotted as at 45 along one side and capable of axial movement to the extent of the height of the dome-recess. The downwardly extending head of lever 39 is shaped to work in slot 37 with edge 37 as a back-stop. It constantly engages in the slot 45 and has a tooth 46 to en a e the top of the nut when its nose 47 is u ly in the slot 45, at which time the horizontally extending handle portion 39' of the lover is full raised by the action of coiled spring 48 t at seats in 0pposed recesses in the lever and the dome. Accordingly when the parts are in the normal position shown in Fig. 1 the upward pressure on nut 44 tends to lock the handle Ill) 39' raised, and nut 44 is held near thebottom of the dome-recess against both rotary displacement and axial movement by the head of lever 39. Obviously by turning screw -11 the point of the spindle, bearing on the center of spring 33, may be screwed down to put the spring under desired tension. and press the rolls 14 and 15 together. Downward pressure exerted on handle 39' moves the tooth 46 of latch lever 39 into register with slot 45 in the nut so that the latter, relieved of vertical restraint, will spring up into the top of the dome. This motion is enough fully to relieve the pressure between the rolls and prevent injury to the hand of the operator or to material in passing between the rolls. Of course to restore the lock to normal position the spindle will be screwed back until nut 44 can dro down a under the tooth 4-6 of the late after w 'eh the threaded spindle is turned to retension the spring 33.

In the arrangement for swin mg the wringer I prefer that head 17 she I have a tubular base extension 50 rovided with several vertical slots 51 an extendin down into a tubular bearing portion 52 of bracket 18. On ears 53 of the bracket I mount a pivot 53' for the latch 18, the nose of which may enter any one of the appropriate slots 51 as the latch is pressed home by its spring 53". B pressing on the handle of the latch the bee. 17 is freed to rotate in its position of ad'ustment with respect to the bracket 18, and t 0 head is freed for detachment from the bracket.

The shaft 19 I preferably make to tele-' scope non-rotatably with a polygonal end of a shaft stub 19 that extends vertically .through the head 17. and has, rotatably mounted thereon, two beveled gears 54 and 55, each provided with clutch teeth 56 for engagement with the teeth of a clutch membet 6 that is slidable on but rotatable with shaft section 19. Both loose gears en ge gear 58 slip fitted on the squared en of wringer shaft 22. The clutch element 57, when in neutral position as shown in Fig. 1, disengages both of the beveled gears and leaves the wringer idle, and for throwing the clutch to engage either gear selectively, the grooved central zone 57 of the clutch is engaged by a roller 59 mounted eccentrically on a stud 60 that extends through a bearing in the end wall of the head 17 and externally carries the operating handle 61. A detent ball 62 spring supported in a reuse in said end wall, engages, in the three critical positions of the stud 60. with depres sion 63, so that the operating handle 61 tends always to reside in one of its critical positions.

Among the advantages of the construction it may be pointed out that the removability of the entire head 18 with the wringer, and

shaft stub 19 attached is very desirable, to facilitate packing, making repairs, etc, and the rmovability of the rolls is especially advantageous. One has but to loosen screw 34 at the right of Fig. 1 to detach head 12 and with it remove gears 23 from the squared shaft ends. The rolls on their shafts may then be removed from engagement with their bearing rings, shaft 22 sh ping out of engagement with gear 58. T is arrangement for enabling the wringer to be hand operated by attaching a handle to shaft 22' is also very desirable.

While I have herein described in some detail a specific embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that changes in particular construction may be made without departure from the spirit of my invention within the scope of my appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a clothes wringer, a frame having a bridge, a roll relatively fixed in said frame, a roll relatively movable in said frame, a single s ring for acting on both ends of the last sai roll to press it toward the other a. tension screw for said spring, a nut or said screw through which it 1s screwed to tension the spring, a. housing carried by the frame in which said screw and nut are arranged to move axially, and a latch carried by said frame enga g said nut so as to prevent rotation an vertical displacement thereof, said latch movable tofree the nut for vertical displacement.

2. In a wri r, the combination with the lower roll, t 0 upper roll bodily movable toward and away therefrom, inner frame members affording bearing at opposite ends in the up r roll, a 5 ring spanning between said mem rs, a singi; tension screw bearin on the center of said spring, a nut on sai screw, a main frame providing a space in which said nut and screw may have axial movement, and a latch for said nut carried by said frame, said nut havin a vertical slot therein, and said latch having an end normally engaging the slot and the top of said nut to prevent bothrotation and axial displacement and movable to engage only the slot to prevent rotary displacement while permitting axial displacement of the 3. A wringer having frame ends connected by a bridge having a downwardly open channel and a central downwardly opening dome, a lower roll supported in said frame end, an upper roll, end bearings therefor, a tension spring s anning between said bearings and located mthe channel of the bridge, a single screw loosely extending through said dome engaging the center of the spring, a nut on said screw axially slidable in said dome, a lever pivoted in said dome having a head passing through an opening in the side of said dome, said head being provided 1,a27,aso

with a tooth 46 and said nut being provided with a receptive slot 45 substantially as described.

4. In a power operated elothes-wringer, the combination of a bracket, a power shaft alining with said bracket, a head detachably mounted on said bracket, a stub shaft carried by said head arranged for slip connection with the said power shaft, a wringer frame rigidly mounted on said head, rolls in said rame, and gears in said head for connecting said stub shaft with said rolls, whereby the wringer, with its connected gears and stub shaft, may be bodily removed rom connection with the bracket and power shaft.

5. In a clothes-wringer, a main frame having a removable posite and member, a head connected with said opposite end member, gearing in said head a roll having a shaft making endwise slip connection with an element of said gearing, a companion roll and its shaft, a vertically slidable guide-frame therefor located ings for end member and an op:

between the end members of the main frame, connecting gears demountably connected with the outer ends of said two shafts, and bearings for the roll shafts demountable from said shafts and carried respectively by the main and guide-frames, whereby upon removal of the detachable and member the rolls can be removed.

6. In a clothes-wringer a main frame having a detachable end member, a head carrying an opposite end member, gearing insaid head, a roll having a shaft slidably engaged with an element of said gearing, an upper roll having a shaft guide-frame, bearthe upper roll in the guide-frame, beari for the lower roll in the end members 0 the main frame, the removable end member of said frame afforded a chamber, connecting gears slidably engaging the roller shafts and arranged in said chamber, whereby upon removal of said end member the rollers may be detached endwise from their bearings and gear connections.

JAMES J. WOOD. 

